Number of uninsured drivers falls

New research released has shown there has been a 20% reduction in the number of people driving without motor insurance over the last four years.

In a set of figures that will go some way to pleasing those working in thecar insurance industry, the number of drivers without car insurance fell by around 300,000 between 2005 and 2009.

According to the Motor Insurers' Bureau, there were 1.8 million motorists on the road in the UK without valid car insurance. That figure fell to 1.5 million last year.

Research shows that every year, uninsured drivers kill 160 people on the roads across the country.

The additional cost they bring is about £500 million in total, or £30 to the cost of each policy for every honest motorist.

Four of five top hotspots for uninsured drivers between 2007 and 2009 were in Birmingham, with Small Heath taking the top slot, followed by Bordesley and Saltley.

Barkerend in Bradford had the highest proportion of uninsured drivers, between 1997, when the Motor Insurers' Bureau first started collecting data, and 2009, followed by West Gorton in Manchester, and Small Heath in Birmingham.

The Metropolitan area had the highest number of uninsured vehicles in terms of police forces, with an estimated one in 10 motorists in the capital not having insurance.